5.Contracting authority:The Regional Authorising Officer (RAO) for the EDF representing the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), Abuja, NIGERIA.

6.Nature of contract:Fee-based.

7.Contract description:The purpose of this assignment is to provide long-term and short-term technical assistance and support to the Ecowas Commission in the implementation of the Pescao project.
The overall objective of this programme is to enhance the contribution of fisheries resources to sustainable development, food security and poverty alleviation in West Africa. The specific
objective is to improve regional fisheries governance in western Africa through better coordination of national and regional fisheries policies. The implementation period will be 48 months. The
Pescao project expected results or outputs are: result 1: a western African fisheries and aquaculture policy is developed and coordination of regional stakeholders is improved;result 2:
prevention of and responses to illegal, unregulated and undeclared (IUU) fishing are strengthened through improved monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) at national and regional levels;
result 3: marine resources management at the regional level is improved, building resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems to perturbations.The purpose of this contract is as follows: a) to
support Ecowas in the overall coordination of the Pescao programme (results 1, 2 and 3); b) to support Ecowas in the achievement of result 1 of the Pescao programme, i.e. specifically on the
following operations:Result 1.1. Ecowas disposes a solid understanding of regional fisheries issues: — activity 1.1.1: collect existing information available on fisheries in western Africa and
create a reference databases,— activity 1.1.2: produce a mapping of the possible interactions between fisheries and aquaculture policy and other Ecowas policies such as trade, environment,
maritime security, SPS, etc.,— activity 1.1.3: based on the analysis of data collected under activity 1.1.1, produce short policy notes on key issues relating to fisheries in western Africa
(e.g. fish trade, food and nutrition security, impact of climate change, gender, etc.). Result 1.2. At the Ecowas level, a regional fisheries and aquaculture policy is drafted and adopted
contributing to better integration of fisheries issues in regional policies and strategies as well as ensuring consistency with global, continental and regional instruments: — activity 1.2.1:
consult various stakeholders on the future policy,— activity 1.2.2: draft a regional policy consistent with global, continental and regional instruments (e.g. FAO code of conduct for
responsible fisheries, African policy framework and reform strategy for fisheries and aquaculture, RFMOs resolutions, etc.), — activity 1.2.3: based on the input of the fish trade programme,
propose and implement specific actions to facilitate fish trade in the Ecowas area, — activity 1.2.4: organise high level meetings to facilitate the adoption and the monitoring of the Ecowas
regional fisheries policy, — activity 1.2.5: develop and implement a communication strategy to facilitate the implementation of the Ecowas regional fisheries policy, — activity 1.2.6: support
countries to facilitate the translation of the regional fisheries policy into their national strategies.Result 1.3. Institutional anchorage between regional economic communities (Ecowas and
WAEMU) and regional fisheries bodies (SRCF and FCWC) is defined, consolidated and operationalised — resulting in strengthened regional organisations: — activity 1.3.1: develop strategic
partnership (MoU) between regional partners and support exchange of experience between RFBs, — activity 1.3.2: support the review of the institutional mandate of RFBs if needed, — activity
1.3.3: strengthen financial and administrative capacities of RFBs and identify possible mechanisms for sustainable funding. Result 1.4. A network of stakeholders is developed at Ecowas level: —
activity 1.4.1: produce a mapping of stakeholders involved in fisheries and aquaculture issues in the Ecowas region, — activity 1.4.2: develop a participative platform to facilitate exchange of
information with and between these actors. Specific attention will be put to ensure due representation of women and artisanal fishermen. Result 1.5. Coordination between fisheries projects and
donors in western Africa is reinforced: — activity 1.5.1: produce and update a mapping of key projects in western Africa, — activity 1.5.2: improve coordination with other regional projects
(e.g. WARFP, etc.) and institutions involved in the development of the fisheries and aquaculture sector in West Africa through regular exchange of information, joint actions and possible back to
back meetings/steering committees. The indicative duration of the technical assistance is 48 months.

8.Number and titles of lots:1 lot only.

9.Maximum budget:2 320 000 EUR.

10.Scope for additional services:The contracting authority may, at its own discretion, extend the project in duration and/or scope subject to the availability of funding not exceeding the value
of the initial contract. Any extension of the contract would be subject to satisfactory performance by the contractor.

11.Eligibility:Participation in tendering is open on equal terms to natural and legal persons (participating either individually or in a grouping (consortium) of tenderers which are established
in a Member State of the European Union, ACP States or in a country or territory authorised by the ACP–EC Partnership Agreement under which the contract is financed (see also item 29 below).
Participation is also open to international organisations.

12.Candidature:All eligible natural and legal persons (as per item 11 above) or groupings of such persons (consortia) may apply. A consortium may be a permanent, legally-established grouping or a
grouping which has been constituted informally for a specific tender procedure. All members of a consortium (i.e., the leader and all other members) are jointly and severally liable to the
contracting authority. The participation of an ineligible natural or legal person (as per item 11) will result in the automatic exclusion of that person. In particular, if that ineligible person
belongs to a consortium, the whole consortium will be excluded.

13.Number of applications:No more than 1 application can be submitted by a natural or legal person whatever the form of participation (as an individual legal entity or as leader or member of a
consortium submitting an application). In the event that a natural or legal person submits more than 1 application, all applications in which that person has participated will be excluded.

14.Shortlist alliances prohibited:Any tenders received from tenderers comprising firms other than those mentioned in the shortlisted application forms will be excluded from this restricted tender
procedure unless prior approval from the contracting authority has been obtained (see ‘Practical Guide’ — PRAG 2.4.3). Shortlisted candidates may not form alliances or subcontract to each
other for the contract in question.

15.Grounds for exclusion:As part of the application form, candidates must submit a signed declaration, included in the standard application form, to the effect that they are not in any of the
exclusion situations listed in Section 2.3.3 of the PRAG.

16.Subcontracting:Subcontracting is allowed.

17.Number of candidates to be shortlisted:On the basis of the applications received, between 4 and 8 candidates will be invited to submit detailed tenders for this contract. If the number of
eligible candidates meeting the selection criteria is less than the minimum of 4, the contracting authority may invite the candidates who satisfy the criteria to submit a tender.

18.Provisional date of invitation to tender:16.11.2017.

19.Provisional commencement date of the contract:14.5.2018.

20.Initial period of implementation of tasks:48 months.

21.Selection criteria:The following selection criteria will be applied to candidates. In the case of applications submitted by a consortium, these selection criteria will be applied to the
consortium as a whole unless specified otherwise. The selection criteria will not be applied to natural persons and single-member companies when they are subcontractors:1) Economic and financial
capacity of candidate (based on item 3 of the application form). In the case of the candidate being a public body, equivalent information should be provided. The reference period which will be
taken into account will be the last 3 years (2014, 2015, 2016) for which accounts have been closed: a) the annual turnover of the candidate for each of the last 3 financial years (2014, 2015,
2016) must exceed 600 000 EUR; and b) the current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities) in the last year for which accounts have been closed must be at least 1. In case of a
consortium this criterion must be fulfilled by each member.2) Professional capacity of candidate (based on items 4 and 5 of the application form). The reference period which will be taken into
account will be the last 5 years from the submission deadline: — the applicant must have at least a professional certificate appropriate to this contract,— the candidate must have at least 10
permanent staff of which at least 6 must be currently working for the candidate in fields related to this contract: (i) fisheries and aquaculture policy; (ii) illegal, unregulated and unreported
fishing and related monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS); and (iii) marine resource management.3) Technical capacity of candidate (based on items 5 and 6 of the application form). The
reference period which will be taken into account will be the last 5 years from the submission deadline: (a) the candidate has successfully provided services under at least 1 contract with a
budget of at least that of this contract (2 320 000 EUR) in the areas of i) fisheries and aquaculture policy and in particular involving activities similar to the ones outlined in Pescao project
result 1; ii) illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing and related monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS); iii) marine resource management, which was implemented at any moment during the
reference period: (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016); (b) the candidate should have a minimum of 5 years working experience across the fields related to: i) fisheries and aquaculture policy and in
particular involving activities similar to the ones outlined in Pescao project result 1; ii) illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing and related monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS);
iii) marine resource management. This means that the project the candidate refers to could have been started or completed at any time during the indicated period but it does not necessarily have
to be started and completed during that period, nor implemented during the entire period. Candidates/tenderers are allowed to refer either to projects completed within the reference period
(although started earlier) or to projects not yet completed. In the first case the project will be considered in its whole if proper evidence of performance is provided (statement or certificate
from the entity which awarded the contract, proof of final payment). In case of projects still ongoing only the portion satisfactorily completed during the reference period although started
earlier will be taken into consideration. This portion will have to be supported by documentary evidence (similarly to projects completed) also detailing its value. If a candidate/tenderer has
implemented the project in a consortium, the percentage that the candidate/tenderer has successfully completed must be clear from the documentary evidence, together with a description of the
nature of the services provided if the selection criteria relating to the pertinence of the experience have been used.Previous experience which caused breach of contract and termination by a
contracting authority shall not be used as reference. An economic operator may, where appropriate and for a particular contract, rely on the capacities of other entities, regardless of the legal
nature of the links which it has with them. It must in that case prove to the contracting authority that it will have at its disposal the resources necessary for performance of the contract, for
example by producing a commitment on the part of those entities to place those resources at its disposal. Such entities, for instance the parent company of the economic operator, must respect the
same rules of eligibility — notably that of nationality — and must fulfil the same relevant selection criteria as the economic operator. With regard to technical and professional criteria, an
economic operator may only rely on the capacities of other entities where the latter will perform the works or services for which these capacities are required. With regard to economic and
financial criteria, the entities upon whose capacity the tenderer relies, become jointly and severally liable for the performance of the contract. If more than 8 eligible candidates meet the
above selection criteria, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the applications of these candidates must be re-examined to identify the 8 best candidates. The only factors which will be taken
into consideration during this re-examination are: • the highest number of relevant contracts in criterion 21.3 implemented in Africa, • the highest value of the relevant contract in
criterion 21.3 supporting the implementation of projects/programmes related to fisheries.

22.Award criteria:Best price-quality ratio.

23.Deadline for receipt of applications:All applications must be received at the latest on 18.9.2017 (16:00), GMT (Nigeria local time). Any application received by the contracting authority after
this deadline will not be considered.

24.Application format and details to be provided:Applications must be submitted using the standard application form, the format and instructions of which must be strictly observed. The
application form is available from the following Internet address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/annexes.do?chapterTitleCode=B The application must be accompanied by a declaration of honour
on exclusion and selection criteria using the template available from the following Internet address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/annexes.do?chapterTitleCode=A Any additional documentation
(brochure, letter, etc.) sent with an application will not be taken into consideration.

25.How applications may be submitted:Applications must be submitted in English exclusively to the contracting authority in a sealed envelope: • either by recorded delivery (official postal
service) to: Office of the Commissioner, General Administration and Conferences, 5th floor, Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) Commission, 101, Yakubu Gowon Crescent, Asokoro
District, Abuja, NIGERIA. In this case, the delivery record is proof of compliance with the time limit for receipt,• or hand delivered (including courier services) directly to the contracting
authority in return for a signed and dated receipt to: Office of the Commissioner, General Administration and Conferences, 5th floor, Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas)
Commission, 101, Yakubu Gowon Crescent, Asokoro District, Abuja, NIGERIA.In this case, the acknowledgment of receipt is proof of compliance with the time limit for receipt.The contract title and
the publication reference (see item 1 above) must be clearly marked on the envelope containing the application and must always be mentioned in all subsequent correspondence with the contracting
authority. Applications submitted by any other means will not be considered. By submitting an application candidates agree to receive notification of the outcome of the procedure by electronic
means. Such notification shall be deemed to have been received on the date upon which the contracting authority sends it to the electronic address referred to in the application.

26.Alteration or withdrawal of applications:Candidates may alter or withdraw their applications by written notification prior to the deadline for submission of applications. No application may be
altered after this deadline.Any such notification of alteration or withdrawal shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with item 25. The outer envelope (and the relevant inner envelope if
used) must be marked ‘Alteration’ or ‘Withdrawal’ as appropriate.

27.Operational language:All written communication for this tender procedure and contract must be in English.

28.Date of publication of prior information notice:18.7.2017.The notice number in OJ S may be found under the title of the project in the published notice on the EuropeAid web page.

29.Legal basis:Annex IV to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States,
of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23.6.2000 as amended in Luxembourg on 25.6.2005 and in Ouagadougou on 22.6.2010. Reference is made to Annex IV as revised by Decision No 1/2014 of the
ACP–EU Council of Ministers of 20.6.2014.

30.Additional information:The opening hours of the contracting authority are 9:00 till 17:00 Mondays to Fridays except on public holidays.